After declaring greenhouse gases hazardous earlier this year, the EPA plans to use the Clean Air Act to begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions from emitters of all sizes beginning January 2011. The EPA’s plan has been widely criticized for being too burdensome and expensive, so the EPA attempted to downsize the plan with a “Tailoring Rule,” targeting only the largest emitters.

In August, Texas filed a lawsuit against the EPA, declaring the proposed “Tailoring Rule” illegal. The state rightly claims the EPA’s plan is unlawful because the Clean Air Act does not address greenhouse gases, even after its last revision by Congress in 1990.

Texas is not alone, as a number of states from Alabama to South Dakota have opposed the EPA’s plan, along with groups like the Ohio Coal Association and the National Alliance of Forest Owners.

It’s alarming enough that the EPA plans to regulate emitters like power plants and factories, which are necessary components of energy production and provide needed jobs. However, it’s even more alarming that the EPA would regulate at least one clean, reliable form of energy — woody biomass, which will not be exempt by the Tailoring Rule.

By regulating woody biomass — which is, in fact, carbon neutral — the EPA would be lumping foresters and biomass emissions with less clean energy producers like coal factories. In addition, the EPA would be ignoring long-held policy, based on scientific fact, and ignoring the carbon benefits of biomass.

The regulation of woody biomass runs counter to common sense. The EPA’s ultimate goal is to reduce greenhouse gases and get our country on a path to using more renewable energy sources. However, by regulating woody biomass, the EPA would be deterring the use of one of our country’s most reliable and inexpensive sources of clean, carbon-neutral energy.

Some states, like Maine, obtain about 30 percent of their energy from woody biomass. Because it is abundant and sustainable— foresters re-plant some 4 million trees every year — it’s a good renewable energy option for states that don’t have access to sources like wind and solar. (And, as I wrote on my blog two weeks ago, even states like Texas that do have high wind capacity aren’t able to utilize wind if the wind doesn’t blow!)

Let’s run through it again. The EPA is attempting to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases, which might be illegal. In addition, it’s overturning decades of precedent regarding woody biomass, which has long been considered a reliable, clean, carbon-neutral source of energy. Furthermore, by imposing these regulations, especially on foresters and woody biomass producers, the EPA will be effectively killing a valuable source of energy and jobs at a time when we need both.

The EPA’s plan doesn’t make any sense, and many states and organizations are on to the administration’s misguided plan. Let’s hope the EPA realizes that it is making a huge mistake and leaves the energy legislating to our elected officials.

Lance Brown is the executive director of the Partnership for Affordable Clean Energy.

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1.
canuck

The EPA needs to be the first agency defunded by any new congress. Education will be the next amd then the Fed brought under congressional oversight. Congress needs to appoint their own “Czars” to decide which programs are funded and which are not. This is the only way to survive the next two years of Marxist Socialism from Obama and his gangsters.

Couldn’t agree with you more about dumping the EPA completely. This throwback to the 1960′s has presumed entirely too much power, and it imposes it’s Mother Gaia crap on everything it touches, regardless of the science behind it or their impact on the American economy. When they claim that CO2 is a “pollutant”, their specious argument is based on corrupted science that nobody who’s paying attention gives any credibility. Their proposed lead paint standards are just as ludicrous. It’s time to dump these government bureaucrats into the unemployment line, where they have put so many other people.

Same thing with the Department of Education, which is nothing more than the Washington Office of the Teachers’ Union. What, exactly, have they contributed to our educational system but billions of dollars of meaningless research and ineffective measurement standards, all designed to ensure permanent jobs for teachers. In the meantime, less than 50% of kids make it all the way through high school in most major cities. It never seems to occur to them that perhaps parents don’t want their kids indoctrinated with leftist liberal history, “enlightened” textbooks, and free condom programs extending all the way into the grade school level, let alone comic books about homosexuality. Like so many of our federal agencies, the Department of Education is a bloody disgrace that debases the money we throw at it. It does not deserve to survive.

While we’re at it, somebody explain to me why federal employees are permitted to be unionized. Federal labor regulations are so convoluted and corrupt that the government can’t fire anybody for poor performance unless they’ve been convicted of a major felony, no matter how awful their work is. What enormous leap of insanity occurred that allowed THAT to happen? As far as I’m concerned, unions should be banned under the RICO statutes as a continuing criminal enterprise.

The EPA itself is unconstitutional. Could have stopped there. Were I the governor of TX I would simply advise TX businesses to ignore the EPA. It’s well past time for the states to reassert their Constitutional rights and put the Leviathan back in its cage.

“Let’s hope the EPA realizes that it is making a huge mistake and leaves the energy legislating to our elected officials.”

Mr. Brown, are you for real? What possible motive do you have to think that the EPA is NOT, on purpose, trying to destroy our economy and nation? Why are you giving them the benefit of doubt? Do you really believe that they are making a mistake or is what they are doing VERY much on purpose?

And what business is it of our legislature to regulate energy?

I hope for the sake of your organization that you climb out of that loony-left mind-warp wormhole have you fallen into?

Hurray for the state that stands firm for their liberties! I’m sick of gov’t encroachment on our liberties… at what point will we say “Enough!”? And how will we respond when we do say it? I’m hoping that comes this election cycle (and the following election cycles), so we can avoid secession or civil war or worse, tyranny.

It is far past time to flip the EPA and its politically appointed regulatory Tyrants the bird. Time for The States and their people to force the instruments of Liberty of the 14th Amendment and sovereign power of The People. As long as this does not happen the phony power of this Nomenklaturer class of apparatchiks will control every sphere of our lives. The EPA can not stand the test of unlawful usurpation of powers not delegated to it by Constitution and natural rights of We The People. It has trespassed upon every idea and concept of Liberty and Prosperity, it is a behemoth of tyranny that’s sole purpose is to relegate power to a ruling class under the guise of politically correct lies, and propaganda of global warming, in order to camouflage the true and very evil intent of intent to destroy then rule the United States by a this ruling class who has no use for any rule of law and liberty.

The EPA has gone beyond the pale in usurping power and regulatory proxy of what is a Big Lie about green house gasses and other pure unadulterated BS.

The EPA has no constitutional powers of any kind to circumnavigate the rule of law of the structure of our republic. The EPA operates as a entity that believes it can do whatever it wants totally independent of the SOVEREIGN WILL OF THE PEOPLE, OUR PROSPERITY, AND OUR SELF DETERMINATION, in essence the EPA bypasses and destroys OUE INSTRUMENTS OF LIBERTY via executive, political, executive and radical fiat.
The EPA has to go, it has to be abolished. The EPA has destroyed or is in the process of undermining our way of life, the roots of our prosperity and industry. It permeates virtually every facet of our society and culture. The EPA is a beast, a monster that is completely out of control, it is staffed with the worst kind of potentates and regulatory tyrants that are anathema to everything this great nation is based on and stands for.

What we have here is dictatorship of the DC alphabet agencies. This monstrous enslaving organism must be destroyed. It is nothing other than the Left’s designed organ of repression. Nothing short of a revolution can bring it down. We now have, exponentially, more reason to revolt than did our ancestors against the British crown. One has to be either a fool or an entrenched leftist not to understand this. The fed now can destroy anyone or any entity it chooses without control. Near absolute power.

They took away our right to a decent shower. They gave us toilets that must be flushed two or three times. All in the name of saving water that cannot escape the planet. Can you think of anything more absurd? Now they have mandated what kind of light bulbs we can have. This just scratches the surface. It goes on and on and on. It is only a matter of time ( and not much of it ) until they get our guns and then the real control will ring down from on high.

We are a cravenly debauched people if we continue to take this enslavement.

I absolutely agree with canuck; the EPA needs to be defunded and disbanded. This group of mini-Nazis has ridden rough shod over the nation nearly since its inception and it needs to be stopped. Enough of this environmental wacko garbage- be gone!

Let’s all say it together: “STARVE THE BEAST!” If the GOP takes over the House this Novermber as anticipated, it will have only one chance to make amends for its past big-government, big-spending mistakes. It must be bold and begin to dismantle a bloated Federal Government which has over-reached and become all too intrusive into our daily lives. If the GOP fails to choke off these un-Constitutional , power-grabbing federal agencies, they will lose us forever. Can you spell “THIRD PARTY?”

Let’s hope the EPA realizes that it is making a huge mistake and leaves the energy legislating to our elected officials.

You can’t be serious. The Obama administration is clearly using the EPA to control energy producers through regulations when they don’t have the votes to get their laws passed. There have been no permits issued for coal mines since Obama entered office. Oil and gas well permits have been seriously curtailed. Fisheries have been closed. Offshore drilling awaits new rules so they can supposedly begin drilling again. Drillers now believe no permits will be issued even after the moratorium is lifted. The administration is literally at war with energy producers and is completely ignoring the economic impact of their actions. These people are extremely dangerous to the future of the country. I can see November from my house.

Texas should do to the EPA what Wyoming did to the ATF — pass a nullification law that includes stiff penalties against any federal goons who attempt to enforce their asinine and anti-constitutional regulations.

Note to Mt Top Patriot (#8): I believe you meant the 10th Amendment. The 14th, in fact, was never legally ratified IAW Article V of the Constitution. I eagerly look forward to a governor or legislature declaring it null and void on that basis.

We should sue the EPA for discrimination against plant life, which depends on CO2 the same way we depend on O2. They will destroy the biosphere so we must sue them on behalf of the plants who cannot speak for themselves.

One source of economical fuel that can easily be used that should be legalized again is the Hemp plant. This plant can be grown almost everywhere with no chemical herbisides or fertilizers necessary to grow. It has an oil in the seeds that could be utilized for our nation as an abundent energy source, and the plant itself could be broken down and be used for many industries including but not limited to plastics, clothing, foods, virtually everything we use today could be made using the hemp plant. Also this plant is environmentally friendly so keeping this plant illegal is illogical. The Hemp plant could be grown by farmers and makes an excellent cash crop because of it’s versatility. If the EPA really wanted to help the nation they would lobby Congress to legalize the plants growth instead of going against the will of the states.

Ah hemp, in Oklahoma they called it ditch weed, grew along the railroad tracks. Smoke it all week and not get a buzz. Stupid to not legalise i’ts commercial production. I suspect the objections from the legal community have to do with the arial cameras that can’t tell the difference between the two.